Senate GOP calls on Holder to turn over classified leaks probe to special prosecutor

The Associated Press

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, June 13, 2012

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Attorney General Eric Holder appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. Holder is facing a contempt of Congress vote next week by the House Oversight Committee where he is accused of misleading the panel's investigation of the controversial "Operation Fast and Furious" gunrunning program.
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Attorney General Eric Holder appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. Holder is facing a contempt of Congress vote next week by the House Oversight Committee where ... more

Photo: AP

Senate GOP calls on Holder to turn over classified leaks probe to special prosecutor

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WASHINGTON -- Angry Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee asserted that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. should turn the criminal investigation into leaks of classified material over to a special prosecutor because they did not trust his Department of Justice to be impartial when it comes to targeting the Obama administration.

But Holder pledged that the two U.S. Attorneys he assigned to handle the leak investigation have "shown a willingness to take on difficult cases" and are the right people to lead two teams of FBI agents and federal prosecutors examining whether administration officials broke the law by revealing classified information.

Holder also said he has recused members of his Justice Department's national security division who worked on matters related to the leaked information from participating in the investigation. He stressed, however, that he was not implying they were involved in the leaks.

FBI Director Robert Mueller III and Holder have already been separately questioned by agents assigned to the investigation, "a serious interview that was done by some serious FBI agents," Holder said.

But Senate Republicans strongly urged Holder to seek a special prosecutor outside the Justice Department and Obama administration to investigate the leaks of material about "kill lists" for drones and cyber warfare that later turned up in The New York Times and other publications.

They said they were extremely unhappy with having U.S. Attorneys Rod J. Rosenstein of Maryland and Ronald C. Machen Jr. in Washington, D.C., oversee the leak investigations. Both Rosenstein and Machen were nominated to their posts by President Barack Obama.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Machen has been a political contributor to Obama's campaign, a volunteer to the "Obama for America" campaign, and assisted in the vetting of a potential vice presidential candidate in 2008.

Cornyn then called for Holder to resign, saying he also is upset with the attorney general's refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents to a House committee investigating the Fast and Furious gun-tracking scandal. Holder responded, "I don't have any intention of resigning."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he believed the investigation was in good hands with the two U.S. Attorneys.

But on the Senate floor Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., formally introduced a resolution calling for a special prosecutor.